Sharks' ECHL affiliate, San Francisco Bulls, out of business

Monday

Jan 27, 2014 at 11:06 PMJan 27, 2014 at 11:32 PM

The City of Seven Hills and the City by the Bay are no longer connected. The San Francisco Bulls, until Monday the ECHL affiliate of the Worcester Sharks, have gone out of business, citing losses in the millions of dollars for their 1½-season existence.

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The City of Seven Hills and the City by the Bay are no longer connected.

The San Francisco Bulls, until Monday the ECHL affiliate of the Worcester Sharks, have gone out of business, citing losses in the millions of dollars for their 1½-season existence.

The team was hoping to secure new ownership, but the terms of an updated deal were unable to be finalized.

"We had a great opportunity come to us that would've kept the Bulls in San Francisco at least through the end of the 2014 season, with potential for future seasons, but we ran out of time to complete all ends of the deal," Bulls coach-general manager Pat Curcio said. "At this point, the best thing to do financially is to reluctantly end the season. We will miss playing here, miss our fans, and miss this city."

The Sharks organization had five players in San Francisco when the franchise folded — goalie J.P. Anderson, as well as skaters Kyle Bigos, Riley Brace, Sebastian Stalberg and Steven Tarasuk.

Stalberg and Anderson are on NHL contracts. The other three are playing under AHL two-way deals.

Stalberg and Brace started the season in Worcester and were sent down on Jan. 6.

Chris Crane was just called up from San Francisco, and Tyler Gron also played there, but not as Sharks property. Yanni Gourde and Daniil Tarasov played for the Bulls last season.

San Jose general manager Doug Wilson said the five players will be reassigned to other minor league teams in the near future.